Rhytidothorax horticola, Hayat, Mohammad & Kazmi, Sarfrazul Islam, 2011

Hayat, Mohammad & Kazmi, Sarfrazul Islam, 2011, On some Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, India, Zootaxa 2830, pp. 1-19 : 4-6

Rhytidothorax horticola sp. nov.

( Figs 1–8 )

Female. Holotype. Length, 1.22 mm. Head black, largely with bluish-green shine, thimble -like punctures bluish; pronotum black with sides brownish yellow; mesoscutum brownish yellow with anterior margin black; axillae brown; scutellum dark brown but basally and laterally brownish yellow; tegula brownish yellow, apically brown; prepectus and mesopleuron brownish yellow; metanotum dark brown; propodeum in mesal third brownish yellow, laterally brown; gaster nearly black. Antenna ( Fig. 1 ) with radicle largely dark brown; scape brownish yellow, apically brownish; pedicel and F1–3 dark brown; F4 yellowish brown, F5 pale brownish yellow, F6 and clava yellow to white. Fore wing subhyaline, uniformly pale infuscate; hind wing hyaline. Legs including fore and hind coxae pale brownish yellow; mid coxa dark brown; mid tarsus with segments 2–4 brownish yellow, but all tarsi with last segment dark brown.

Head ( Fig. 6 ). Eyes nearly reaching occiput posteriorly; scrobes deep, U-shaped, with rounded margins; antennal toruli placed nearer mouth margin, much below a line drawn across lower margins of eyes; ocellar triangle with apical angle a right angle; frontovertex with raised reticulate sculpture, and with small thimble-like setigerous punctures, each smaller than diameter of anterior ocellus; setae on head dark brown; eyes setose, setae pale brown to hyaline, each clearly longer than a facet. Mandible with one pointed tooth and a receding second tooth. Maxillary palp 3-segmented, labial palp 2-segmented. Antenna as in Fig. 1 ; scape 3.4x to nearly 4x as long as broad; F1 slightly longer than 0.5x of pedicel; funicle segments, except F1 and F2, quadrate to broader than long; clava about as long as F4–6 combined. Relative measurements — head dorsal width, 38; frontovertex width at anterior ocellus, 12; eye height, 24; malar space, 14; POL, 6; OOL, 1.5; OCL, 1.75; AOL, 4; scape length, 17; scape width, 5.

Mesosoma. Mesoscutum with fine, slightly raised polygonal reticulations; scutellum in anterior half finely reticulate, but reticulations not deeper than on mesoscutum, and with posterior half smooth; mesopleuron finely reticulate; propodeum about one-quarter as long as scutellum, and with ridges as in Fig. 4 ; setae on thorax dark brown, but those on sides of propodeal spiracles silvery white. Fore wing ( Fig. 2 ) 2.6x as long as broad; venation extending 0.54x wing length; postmarginal vein 1.2x as long as marginal and 1.25x as long as stigmal vein. Hind wing 4x as long as broad; venation extending 0.67x wing length; marginal cell with a line of very long setae ( Fig. 3 ). Last segment of fore and mid tarsi each with setae arranged in two short combs ( Figs 7, 8 ). Relative measurements — mesoscutum length (width), 21 (32); scutellum length (width), 22 (18.5); median length of propodeum, 6.

Gaster shorter than mesosoma (34: 45), and slightly broader than long (37: 34); hypopygium with a semicircular notch in posterior margin; ovipositor as in Fig. 5 . Relative measurements (paratype, slide) — ovipositor length, 25; mid tibia length, 47; mid basitarsus length, 12; mid tibial spur length, 14.5.

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype, female (on card) labelled “ INDIA: Arunachal Pr. Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Road to Ranijheel, 11.xi.2009, P. M. Sureshan” (“ NZSI 12338/H3” on a red ticket).

Paratypes. 1 female (on card) with same data as holotype ( NZSI, 12339/H3); 1 female (on slide, under 5 coverslips, slide No. EH. 1308), Arunachal Pradesh, Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Daphabum Road, 9.xi.2009, P. M. Sureshan ( ZDAMU, Registration No. HYM. CH. 618).

Host. Unknown.

Distribution. India: Arunachal Pradesh.

Comments. The species is apparentlysimilar to R. hirtus Howard (1894 ; see also Noyes 1979) but differs by the characters given in the key.

Etymology. Latin: hortus = park or garden + colo = to inhibit, referring to its occurrence in the Namdapha National Park, the former name of the Namdapha Tiger Reserve.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Rhytidothorax horticola sp. nov., female: 1, antenna; 2, fore wing; 3, hind wing; 4, mesosoma; 5, ovipositor; 6, head front view; 7, fifth segment of fore tarsus; 8, fifth segment of mid tarsus.